Saturday, September 10, 2005
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Wheeling and Dealing at the local market.....
Nothing like pickin out some fresh chickens. These guys made sure we had the best of the best. They'll even kill 'em and pluck 'em right there for you - all for around, say.... $3!
Chicken feet - a sure treat!
Nothing to be wasted here! Chicken feet are considered a rare treat here in Burkina Faso......unfortunately - tastes like chicken does NOT apply......
Goat-a-licious...
9/7/05
We get to butcher our first goat today! As part of gaining a deeper, more realistic perspective into the local way of life, my team and I will spend the entire day purchasing, butchering, preparing, and cooking a goat…….something I have never really done before. I’m a wee bit queesey when it comes to this kind of stuff, so we’ll see how I handle it. I will probably refrain from putting the pictures of the “process” on this site but you can always check out more over on the following link:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bakermania
Coming into this, I’m a bit nervous and curious all at the same time. We’ll see how I stomach the whole thing! Looking forward to having many stories to tell after this!!!
We get to butcher our first goat today! As part of gaining a deeper, more realistic perspective into the local way of life, my team and I will spend the entire day purchasing, butchering, preparing, and cooking a goat…….something I have never really done before. I’m a wee bit queesey when it comes to this kind of stuff, so we’ll see how I handle it. I will probably refrain from putting the pictures of the “process” on this site but you can always check out more over on the following link:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bakermania
Coming into this, I’m a bit nervous and curious all at the same time. We’ll see how I stomach the whole thing! Looking forward to having many stories to tell after this!!!
Sunday, September 04, 2005
First sighted Boabob Tree!!
Pronounced as "bow - bob" (as in "bow down") this local tree is absolutely huge at the base and grows to be hundreds of years old! They're really cool looking too.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
The BIG city......
9/3/05
Swarmed by eager, young street venders with the constant calling of “masada” (slang for white person) and “la blanc,” (French for white) we venture through depth Ougadougou. Overwhelmed at times by the open sewers, intense exhaust fumes, and cooking critters, my team and I attempted to complete our task of collecting all the items on the list for our orientation scavenger hunt. Armed with a few words in broken French, a small pocket dictionary, and absolutely NO clue of the layout of the city that was home to some 1.8 million people, Kristin, Kate and I managed to survive our first day making it to the American and British embassy after two hours of walking in the scorching hot sun and mud coated sidewalks. Two items down and only 23 more to go………
Day four came early today. I’m discovering the true value of learning a second language and have experienced all sorts of crazy fun food here (silverware is totally a “Western” thing). All is going well and each day brings a new challenge, allowing me to anticipate each corner with a new word/phrase learned in French and a greater love for God’s diverse and creative hand!
Much more to come.......
Swarmed by eager, young street venders with the constant calling of “masada” (slang for white person) and “la blanc,” (French for white) we venture through depth Ougadougou. Overwhelmed at times by the open sewers, intense exhaust fumes, and cooking critters, my team and I attempted to complete our task of collecting all the items on the list for our orientation scavenger hunt. Armed with a few words in broken French, a small pocket dictionary, and absolutely NO clue of the layout of the city that was home to some 1.8 million people, Kristin, Kate and I managed to survive our first day making it to the American and British embassy after two hours of walking in the scorching hot sun and mud coated sidewalks. Two items down and only 23 more to go………
Day four came early today. I’m discovering the true value of learning a second language and have experienced all sorts of crazy fun food here (silverware is totally a “Western” thing). All is going well and each day brings a new challenge, allowing me to anticipate each corner with a new word/phrase learned in French and a greater love for God’s diverse and creative hand!
Much more to come.......
Alive and Well!!
9/2/05
Africa at long last!! At times it really doesn’t seem real. Of course there are other times, (like on Tuesday, when I shocked myself while touching an ungrounded plug adapter) that I am VERY aware that I’m in a third world environment.
So far, I’ve had the opportunity to experience the big city of Ougadougou (Population 1.8 million), eat some rather strange food (cous cous a.k.a. mini pasta), and attempt to communicate with dozens of friendly people here in my broken French. The weather is quite different than I ever imagined, being the rainy season, it is VERY humid and the inside temp. (as in my house) hangs at a rather sticky 80 degrees. The outskirts of the city (where I will be staying for most of my training) is actually much cleaner than I expected as well. Being a VERY poor county, I never thought they would have an organized garbage system; but sure enough, if you can afford it, a little donkey cart comes by every so often and picks up your trash……..where it’s dumped, I have yet to discover; but I have a feeling it’s not far off.
The people here are more helpful and friendly than one would ever imagine. Even though it seems like every other person here speaks a different language there are many who speak French and about 1/100 speak a good broken English! So far, I’ve heard French, Fulfulde, Moray, and some other unknown dialects! I can’t wait to be able to tackle French and move onto the next available language!
Many more stories to tell!
Africa at long last!! At times it really doesn’t seem real. Of course there are other times, (like on Tuesday, when I shocked myself while touching an ungrounded plug adapter) that I am VERY aware that I’m in a third world environment.
So far, I’ve had the opportunity to experience the big city of Ougadougou (Population 1.8 million), eat some rather strange food (cous cous a.k.a. mini pasta), and attempt to communicate with dozens of friendly people here in my broken French. The weather is quite different than I ever imagined, being the rainy season, it is VERY humid and the inside temp. (as in my house) hangs at a rather sticky 80 degrees. The outskirts of the city (where I will be staying for most of my training) is actually much cleaner than I expected as well. Being a VERY poor county, I never thought they would have an organized garbage system; but sure enough, if you can afford it, a little donkey cart comes by every so often and picks up your trash……..where it’s dumped, I have yet to discover; but I have a feeling it’s not far off.
The people here are more helpful and friendly than one would ever imagine. Even though it seems like every other person here speaks a different language there are many who speak French and about 1/100 speak a good broken English! So far, I’ve heard French, Fulfulde, Moray, and some other unknown dialects! I can’t wait to be able to tackle French and move onto the next available language!
Many more stories to tell!
One SWEET flight!
8/29/05
As we flew over the Sahara Desert, more than a few thoughts passed through my mind. I was consumed with the soon to be consistant euphoric sense of process - a kind of unbelief to a certain degree that I was actually here - doing something I've always dreamed of doing, chasing that one dream that seemed so impossible to follow, and yet when I looked around me on the plane, I discovered something rather strange, I was pursueing this passion inside me with about 200 other poeple saved and unsaved alike. Some of these people obviously returning home while others simply striking adventure in potentially dull life and yet more having no real deep reason aside from seeing a few sights (though I've been told there's not much to see where I'm headed).
Getting back to the beauty on hand, the landscape below seemed to spring outwards like deep starving roots of a cliff hung tree, almost as though reaching for something that was not there. The horizon struck me as vividly familiar. I can't explain the feeling other than - it didn't seem new - just beautiful in its own way. As I continued to gaze across the Sahara sands, within what looked like Algeria or Libya, my mind only began to search out the vastness of this ocean of sand that is so vaguely described within the Scriptures. At an elevation of more than 34,000 feet, I could still only see for maybe 100 miles or so. The sand on the horizon taking up the latter part of anyone's view yet adding a unique sense of mystery to this odd place. I couldn't wait to land and discover sooo much more......
As we flew over the Sahara Desert, more than a few thoughts passed through my mind. I was consumed with the soon to be consistant euphoric sense of process - a kind of unbelief to a certain degree that I was actually here - doing something I've always dreamed of doing, chasing that one dream that seemed so impossible to follow, and yet when I looked around me on the plane, I discovered something rather strange, I was pursueing this passion inside me with about 200 other poeple saved and unsaved alike. Some of these people obviously returning home while others simply striking adventure in potentially dull life and yet more having no real deep reason aside from seeing a few sights (though I've been told there's not much to see where I'm headed).
Getting back to the beauty on hand, the landscape below seemed to spring outwards like deep starving roots of a cliff hung tree, almost as though reaching for something that was not there. The horizon struck me as vividly familiar. I can't explain the feeling other than - it didn't seem new - just beautiful in its own way. As I continued to gaze across the Sahara sands, within what looked like Algeria or Libya, my mind only began to search out the vastness of this ocean of sand that is so vaguely described within the Scriptures. At an elevation of more than 34,000 feet, I could still only see for maybe 100 miles or so. The sand on the horizon taking up the latter part of anyone's view yet adding a unique sense of mystery to this odd place. I couldn't wait to land and discover sooo much more......
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